Iran

There was a slight dis-ease between Saudi Arabia and Iran after the Bahrain Crisis. But things have gone back to normal. Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal spoke with Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister and exchanged views. The bilateral talks would have proved fruitful had not the Iranians put certain conditions which were unacceptable to the Saudis.

The next series of talks were scheduled to take place in Riyadh but certain matters came up which prevented meaningful dialogue between the two countries. Prince Saud Al-Faisal has said that “the presence of Saudi forces in Bahrain was to preserve peace.” Furthermore, he expressed concern about the innocent women and children who were the victims of the crises in the region.

The Saudi Foreign Minister gave voice to some of his concerns before the British Foreign Minister, William Hague. They were exchanging views about the volatile Middle East in Jeddah.

In a bold move Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad lashed out at Western accusations of Tehran’s sponsorship of Hamas and Hezbollah by saying that “Washington, Israel and Europe are the worst culprits.” This comes amidst a meeting of delegates in Tehran on the occasion of the International Conference on Global Fight against Terrorism. Among the countries whose heads of state were present were Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

All three are committed to fighting terror on their soil. President Zardari said that “we are fighting a war that will determine not only the future of my country but the future of your countries and the entire world.” Hamid Karzai spoke of how “terrorism is still a threat to Afghanistan and the entire region.” Finally, the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani warned the nations against supporting Al-Qaeda.

The conference proved fruitful if only in the sense of cross-fertilizing the awareness process. Terrorism was seen as not simply a black-and-white phenomenon but a very complex problem the solution of which still remains elusive.

Other animals have been previously sent into orbit around the earth. These included a rat, turtles and worms. But now Iran is all set to send a monkey into outer space. The planning has been finalized for this summer if the information from a top official in the space program is to be believed. The Kavoshgar-5 Rocket will be launched with a capsule containing a live monkey.

President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has approved the launching of a monkey by 2012 as a preliminary step before the final launch of a human being in 2020. Iran has launched satellites before. With an achievement-oriented space program, Iran is progressing in the scientific department. But the Western nations look on with grave apprehensions.

The West fears that these satellites may one day be used to strike key areas of the globe with nuclear warheads. However, Iranian officials deny this as hearsay and rumor since in their words the space program is for peaceful purposes only.

Like “the boy who cried wolf” the western powers including Israel have time after time raised alarm bells regarding Iran and its nuclear program. Washington and Tel Aviv hold firmly to the unfounded belief that Iran plans to make a nuclear weapon and will not desist from using it against Israel. But maybe a conquered or peaceful Iran is not acceptable to these powers. Rather what they want is to keep up the view of an Iran that is a threat.

There is talk of how between June and September of this year there will be attacks on Iran. Of course the fact that these attacks will be delayed like several such previous threats only confirms the hypothesis that the west is a paper tiger. The role of the United States as a global policeman that seeks to bring about civilization everywhere (that includes Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya so why not Iran?) is the real threat.

This high handedness will only make cultures like Iran reactive. Better to let them continue in their path of self-development rather than unnecessarily interfere.

After much debate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian Head of State has appointed a caretaker for the Oil Ministry. The chosen man is Mohammad Aliabadi. 165 of the 198 members of parliament supported this decision. Previously, Ahmadinejad had taken over the Oil Ministry which proved to be an unpopular decision.

Shiite Iran has been under the control of the hardliners especially the Mullahs since the 1979 revolution in which Ayatollah Khomeini toppled the US-backed Shah’s government. The Iranian threat to the Saudis fueled the Iran-Iraq War. After the end of the war Saddam invaded Kuwait which led to the first and second Gulf Wars. The volatility of the region is ultimately due to the oil that is so richly available in it. The wars too were all about oil without which industrial civilization would grind to a halt.

Iran has tried to end the tension in Syria by sending its advisers as well as weapons and surveillance equipment to its supporters there. The objective of all this is to destroy the anti-governmental forces which are active in Syria. Aid from Iran has led to incarceration of scores of Syrians who are not pro-government.

Iran’s Quds force is responsible for supporting the repressive Syrian government. The US has imposed sanctions against the Quds force and has warned of dire consequences if Iran continues aid to its only ally in the region.